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CommentsDisplaying AtlasIsShrugging's 10 most recent comments.

• Woman Arrested While Refusing Smart Meter Installation on Her Property Tells Us Her Story

  January 24, 2013 at 9:04pm

  I work in the utility industry and would like to provide some facts to this discussion. There are issues associated with smart meters but property access is not one of them. I don’t know the specific tariffs of this particular utility but in general when a person requests service they are granting the utility access to their property so the utility can install and maintain the equipment necessary to provide such service. The irony in this case is that the homeowners are objecting to workers being on their property yet that likely occurs every month when the meter is read. One advantage of a smart meter is that no one will ever step foot on their property again to read a meter because that will be done remotely. As to the RF issues, I can only assume that these people don’t own cell phones, wireless routers, iPads, etc. If RF is their concern they should be demonstrating at the local Apple Store. The biggest issues with smart meters are cost vs. benefits and cyber security. It has been demonstrated that they can be hacked into to turn off service or alter readings. Security has improved but like anything cyber, the hackers will take up the challenge. As to cost, the biggest driver of installations has been federal stimulus money because absent this subsidy, they would not be cost effective yet in most cases. My utility can’t make the numbers work to save customers money. A number of utilities who installed smart meters are struggling to justify the costs and lack of savin

• After School Shooting, Anti-Gun Advocates Want NRA President, Members to Be Shot

  December 17, 2012 at 10:06pm

  As sad as the CT murders are, the reality is that according to the Center for Disease Control, almost 50% more children aged 0-14 are killed in vehicular accidents than by violent acts (which are not all guns). In fact, almost as many children drown every year as are killed by violent acts. Why no presidential and congressional outrage over these deaths? Are children who die in cars and swimming pools less important than those killed by guns? Shouldn’t we be doing more to protect children in cars so that this carnage doesn’t continue? Perhaps we should put speed limiters on cars and require full roll cages, 4 point safety harnesses and helmets. Aren’t our children worth it?

  The data is similar for all people. Almost 36,000 people die in auto accidents annually compared to less than 9,000 gun deaths. How many more people must die in cars before we put the appropriate limits on car ownership?